Review: Taken by Storm by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: Taken by Storm
Series: Raised by Wolves #3
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Genre: Supernatural Fiction, Young Adult Fiction
Elements: Werewolves, Psychic Abilities, Ghosts
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Format: Hardcover, 314 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-60684-319-2
Release Date: May 22, 2012
Source: Borrowed from Wentworth Library
Rating: 4.5/5

Tagline(s): ~NONE~

Summary: In the eye of a storm stands Bryn, the alpha of the Cedar Ridge werewolf pack.

She is young. Female. Human. Physically weaker than any werewolf, she could never survive a battle with another alpha, the strongest, fiercest, and canniest of his pack.

Yet she cannot refuse a summons from the werewolf Senate, a gathering of the most powerful werewolves on the continent. The subject is a rogue werewolf, but Bryn knows the other packs want what she has.

Her territory. Her females. Her pack.

They want her death.

Werewolf law prevents the other alphas from making a direct attack. It also prevents her former alpha, the mysterious and powerful Callum, from coming to her aid.

But it doesn't prevent Bryn from knowing what she wants.

To keep her lands. To protect her pack.

To survive.

Review:

Still traumatized by causing Lucas's death when he challenged her and Maddy's absence from the pack, Bryn resents her weaknesses as a human leading a werewolf pack. The strength of the pack is the strength of the alpha, and the strength of the alpha is the strength of the pack.

Feeling as though her status as human is weakening her pack, Bryn went to Callum to ask the unthinkable. But seven long months have passed with no word from Callum, so Bryn takes matters into her own hands and tries to hone her abilities as a Resilient.

Things have been quiet, but they can't stay quiet forever. A storm is brewing and Bryn is smack in the middle. Will she come out unscathed or will the coming storm leave her battered and bruised?

When Shay called a Senate meeting to discuss a string of deaths caused by a female Rabid, it was the beginning of a very trying and painful journey for Bryn. Every future Callum could find was coated in blood, and that Bryn would need to be human for what was going to pass. But being human causes Bryn great heartbreak, because you can't trade a human's life for a wolf's.

Surprise revelations, unexpected allies, and enemies thought to be long dead arise. New bonds are formed, old bonds are broken, and hearts are left shattered. But revenge is sweet and a war is waged. A life forever changed by one fateful attack so many years ago, is changed once again by a leap of faith, courage, and hope.

Taken by Storm is the most emotionally charged book in the Raised by Wolves series. Bryn's strength as a leader, as an alpha, was tested physically in Raised by Wolves; mentally in Trial by Fire; and emotionally in Taken by Storm. As a human female alpha in a world where women are seen as prized possessions, Bryn had to work extra hard to prove that she could lead a werewolf pack in a society where only men ruled. She has more than proven that she has what it takes to be alpha.

I'm not sure if Taken by Storm is the final book in this series or not, but I really hope that there is more to come.

About this Author:

Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been, in turn, a competitive cheerleader, a volleyball player, a dancer, a debutante, a primate cognition researcher, a teen model, a comic book geek, and a lemur aficionado. She's been writing for as long as she can remember, finished her first full book (which she now refers to as a "practice book" and which none of you will ever see) when she was still in high school, and then wrote Golden the summer after her freshman year in college, when she was nineteen.

Jen graduated high school in 2002, and from Yale University with a degree in cognitive science (the study of the brain and thought) in May of 2006. She'll be spending the 2006-2007 school year abroad, doing autism research at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Review: The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax by Trinity Faegen

Title: The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax
Series: The Mephisto Covenant #1
Author: Trinity Faegen
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Supernatural Fiction
Elements: Angels, Demons
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Format: Hardcover, 438 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-60684-170-9
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Source: Borrowed from Wentworth Library
Rating: 4.5/5

Tagline(s): ~NONE~

Summary: Only a daughter of Eve is pure enough of spirit to love a son of Hell. Only a son of Hell could be this hot.

Sasha is desperate to find out who murdered her father. When getting the answer means pledging her soul to Eryx, she unlocks a secret that puts her in grave danger--she is an Anabo, a daughter of Eve, and Eryx's biggest threat.

A son of Hell, immortal, and bound to Earth forever, Jax looks for redemption in the Mephisto Covenant--God's promise he will find peace in the love of an Anabo. After a thousand years, he's finally found the girl he's been searching for: Sasha.

With the threat of Eryx always looming, Jax knows he has to keep Sasha safe and win her over. But can he? Will Sasha love him and give up her mortal life?

Review:

The Redemption of Ajax is rich in mythology; particularly in the mythology of Mephistopheles and the Faustian legend. In order to understand the book better, you need to know at least a little about the myth. In the legend, Mephistopheles is seen as a devil--a worker for Satan--who Faust wagered his soul against. In other stories he's portrayed as a fallen angel trapped in his own hell by serving the Devil, he regrets losing God and the joys of heaven, and is torn between pride and despair. The name Mephistopheles comes from the Hebrew mephitz which means "destroyer" and tophel which means "liar."

Not only does Trinity Faegen use the Faustian legend she also fills out the story with pieces of Greek myth, Russian history, Christian religion, and her own elements of myth with the creation of the Anabo and the Mephisto Covenant.

In The Redemption of Ajax, it's Eryx who takes on the role that is traditionally Mephistopheles' by sending his skia out to gain members to the Ravens by pledging their souls to Eryx. Eryx's goal is to build up his followers and take Hell from Lucifer.

The only ones who stand in his way are his brothers--the Mephisto. Kyros, Phoenix, Denys, Xenos, Titus, and Ajax, all work to capture the lost souls Eryx has gained and their skia and toss them into Hell on Earth. That means many less followers for Eryx, which limits his power.

Now, while the Mephisto try to save humanity, the only ones who can offer the Mephisto redemption are the Anabo--daughters of Eve. Because they are without the temptation to sin and are souls of light, Anabo can sense evil a lot easier than anyone else. This also makes them the only ones who have the ability or capacity to love the Mephisto. The only problem is that their numbers are few and far between.

The Mephisto Covenant itself is a deal Mephistopheles made with God when Ajax and his brothers became immortal. A way for them to earn a chance at heaven. If they can love selflessly, they would have peace and a fair shot at heaven. But the only girl who wouldn't run screaming from them is an Anabo. If she loves the one intended for her and he loves her back for real, not only will he get redemption, she will become Mephisto, become immortal, and join the fight against Eryx. Whats more, she will still be Anabo as well as never losing heaven. Their children will be like her--a mix of Mephisto and Anabo--and when they are grown they will join the fight.

Some may think that this book has too much information or attention to detail in the story, but if you're someone who really gets into the story when reading a book--likes knowing the details behind circumstances and events--you will barely notice, when others felt barraged with information.

I love how their name meanings match up with their personalities and characteristics. The Mephisto's names--Kyros means "leader" or "master," Phoenix means "rising bird," Xenos means "stranger," Titus means "giant," Denys means or comes from "servant of Dionysus," and Ajax means " powerful warrior"--help describe the brother's characteristics, circumstances, or positions. I thought that Sasha's name--her given name, Alexandra--was the perfect name for an Anabo. What better name for an Anabo than one that means "defender of men"?

As I've mentioned in many of my other reviews, I love a romance that's not instantaneous. I love when it builds and grows over a period of time. It makes it more real and believable. Sasha and Ajax's love definitely wasn't instant. The attraction was, but not the love. They both resist for as long as they can; weighing the consequences, and trying to decide what's best for the other and themselves. This brings about some very steamy and swoon-worthy moments when their restraint slips. When they finally allow themselves to give in to what they really feel for each other it's an emotionally powerful moment.

I've read in other reviews that people were disappointed in how the book ended, but I don't think it could have ended any other way than how Trinity wrote it. I really loved all the attention to myth, names, and details in the story. It has a depth that I couldn't help diving head-first into.

About this Author:

Trinity Faegen wasn’t always a writer. She had an illustrious career as a Campus Cop in college, led many children astray as a camp counselor, and decorated Christmas trees for sweet, and notsosweet, little old ladies. She loves metal and rock, the Rocky mountains, chocolate cake and college football. She hates sappy stuff and hypocrites. Mostly, though, she loves to write.

Trinity lives in the outback of Texas with her husband and a mean cat. If you’d like to share camp stories, or ask Trinity why she’s ruining her hearing by listening to metal on headphones, write to her at:  trinity@trintiyfaegen.com

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